Visible offset card file



Jan. 9, 1951 c. F. WOLTERS ET Al.

VI'SIBLE OFFSET CARD FILE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 17, 1945 de zzem'eu Jap. 9, 1951 v c. F. WOLTERS ETAL VISIBLE OFFSET CARD FILE Filed May 17, 1945 2 Shee'Ls-Sheel 2 PRILE wf ORDER D/*Ti REFERENCE ORDFFMH l endewezz Patented Jan. 9, 1951 VISIBLEV OFFSET CARD FILE- Carl IF. Wolters and Niels Yde Andersen, Kenmore, N. Y., assignors to Remington Rand Inc., Buialo, N. Y., a' corporationof Delaware.

Application May 17, 1945,'. Serial No. 594,332

8 Claims. (Cl. 129-16) This invention relates to a card index and file of the type wherein the cards are offset horizontally from each other to provide 'visible marginal portions, and it has particular reference to the provision of means for accurately and positively aligning the cards and signalling at a glance such cards as may be missing from the file.

While it has heretofore been proposed to arrange cards in horizontal rows and in overlap,- ping relation, so that a marginal portion of each card would be visible, such prior proposals have failed to meet all of the essential requirements of such a le, duev to misalignment of the cards in cach row, diiculties in expanding the file as new cards were added, inability to locate missing cards at any Dart of the le without thumping .through the assembly, and limitations on the number' of cards which could be collected in a 'given space. The present invention contemplates improvements overcoming these, and other objections, thereby to provide-a iile of the character described which may be readily applied to the collocation of information of various types.

The inventiony is directed to providing a card index that has many of the space saving advantages and the simplicity of vertical filing, an oilsett visible margin for visible index-ing, an arrangement to increase eificiency in both hand and machine posting, the removal and replacement cards without unnecessary loss of time, reling of cards` with little chance of misling, ilexibility providing for increasing the number of cards in the iile by additions tothe index at any point, and a signal arrangementA for directly indicating a missingY card.

Theinvention provides a divider panel having a serrated top edge portion for protecting the top edges of the cards adjacent thereto and leaving sections of the top edges of the cards visible for indicating at a glance the absence of a card from the die. A transparent cover may be folded over the` serrated top edge to facilitate manual operation of the divider panels and provide them with a smooth, rounded edge.

The principles o1 the invention, and practical ways in which its objectives may be attained, will be apparent from the following description of a typical embodimena illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a transverse cross section oi a ling tray with index` cards and divider panels disposed therein, the section being taken substantially along the line i-l of Fig. 2.

"ig.` 2 is a longitudinal cross section through the filing tray showing in elevation a series of horizontally offset index cards,

3 is a view similar' to Fig. 2, with the sevral card lunits broken away to show successively the diidr panels, index cards, and a section :panal or throwing panel.

Fig. 4 is an elevation of a typical index card.

Fig. 5 is a perspective of a retaining clip employed to secure and align the divider panels.

`Fig. 6 is a perspective of one of the divider panel retaining members adapted to cooperate with the retaining clips.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged cross section taken on line l-l of Fig. 2.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective illustrating a portion of the top edges of several divide-r panels and the cards therebetween.

Fig. 9 shows a fragment of the upper portion of an index card having a portion of the margin serrated.

Fig. 10 shows a portion of a divider retaining member in perspective to illustrate how. it may be provided with a plurality of notches for retaining dividers in position against longitudinal movement.

As shown in Figs. l, 2 and 3, the file comprises a tray, generally designated by the reference numeral l i, which in this instance is of a relatively small or portable type, and includes a bottom i2, fixed end walls i3 and i4, and hinged front and back walls l5 and i6. When in use, the hinged walls may be tilted outwardly a limited distance, as shown in Fig. 1, thereby facilitating reference to the` contents of the tray. When not in use, the hinged walls are brought to and latched in a vertical position, so that the tray may receive a cover, if desired, and be safely stored in any suitable place. Except as hereinafter explained, the precise construction of the tray is not of the essence o1v the invention, as it will be apparent that trays of other types and sizes may be employed.

The bottom l2 of the tray is provided with a plurality of uniformly or equally spaced guide rails Il, herein shown as straight inserts set into and projecting above, the bottom, and extending from the front to the back. These rails are adapted to support and space index cards i8, which, as best shown in Fig. 4, each comprise a rectilinear sheet of suitable paper stock havinga lower edge I9 formed with uniformly spaced notches 2l to provide intervening depending tabs 22. The notches 2l are of such width and height to t nicely over the projecting portions of the rails Il, as shown in Fig. 2, while the tabs 22 occupy the spaces between the rails and lightly abut the bottom I2. Inasmuch as there are a substantial number of notches 2l in a card of suitable width, it is not essential that there be as many rails as notches, as some notches may be unoccupied by rails without interfering with the intended operation. However, it will be apparent that the distance between the centers of the rails il, ii not equal to the center to center distance of the notches, should be some whole multiple thereof. That is to say, if the. distance between the notch centers is designated as the dimension a (Fig. 4) then the distance between the rail centers may be a, 211, or the like. With this arrangement, any card |8 may be moved to the right or left in uniform increments or whole multiples thereof, Ysimply by placing any notch 2| over the rail previously encompassed by an adjacent notch.

, The card I8 is advantageously of such height as to project slightly above the open top of tray II, and each upper corner is cut at a suitable angle, of say 45, to provide diagonal margins 23. While it is entirely feasible to cut one corner, rather than both, for most installations both corners are formed as shown, for purposes which will be hereinafter more fully explained. The front, or visible face of the card I8, is also provided, at the junction of one edge 23 and the straight top edge 24, with a dark section 25 providing a decided contrast in color with the remainder of the edge 24. The section 25 has a length equal to or slightly greater than the dimension 0., representing the spacing of the notches 2|, which is designated in Fig. 4 as a-I-x. It should be pointedV out that while this contrasting border portion may be somewhat wider than the notch spacing, it should not be equal to 2a, unless further and unnecessary adjustments are made. The body of each card I8 may be ruled tc delineate a business form suited to the keeping of some particular kind of record, and upon which may be periodically entered the information relevant to the account or business transaction to which the form relates.

A number of the cards I8 are adapted to be led in the tray i in the manner shown in Fig. 2, from which it will appear that the cards are laid on top of each other, with the right hand margin of each card exposed, and therefore visible when viewed from the face of each series. For convenience in description, the several cards I8 are here designated as I8a, |81), and so forth. It will be seen that the card |8a is adjacent the left hand end wall I3, and its notches 2| engage some of the spacer rails I1. The next card Ib is positioned to the right a distance equal to the dimension a, and accordingly the card |812 is visible along its right hand margin for a width equal to the dimension a. The contrasting portions 25 of the cards |8a and |8b therefore merge into each other, presenting a continuous line orcolor and a distinctive signal. No card |80 is shown, as it is to be understood that this card is temporarily out of the file for posting or other purposes. Therefore the next card is marked Id, and it is accordingly spaced a distance 2a from card |817. This removal of the card |80 therefore interrupts the continuity of the line, formed by the portions 25, since no one of these portions is as long as the distance 2a. Accordingly, the absence of any given card is at once indicated by the interruption of the line, giving another distinctive signal to the user at a glance.

It will be apparent that when suificient cards have been superimposed in oifset relation to extend from one side of the tray to the other that a series has been completed, and that the next series of cards should be positioned immediately in back of the series just described, and continue in this fashion until the capacity of the tray has been reached. It will also be seen that the cards It are electively held against longitudinaldisplacement, that they are readily removed and inserted, and that the place for reinsertion of a card may be located by the signal given by the 4 interruption of the continuous band formed by the portions 25.

Inasmuch as the tray would have an extremely small capacity if only one series of cards were filed therein, and it would be diicult to locate and separate the various series if they rested directly against each other, provision is further made for index guides or dividers which cooperate with the structure just described. To this end, the invention contemplates dividers or divider panels, generally designated by the reference numeral 3 i, which are positioned in the tray I I, in longitudinally extending relation, and between the various series of cards I8. These dividers 3| may be made from heavy cardboard as well as from aluminum or steel or metal alloys having a de-v sired character of stiffness and other qualities.

As best shown in Fig. 2, each divider 3| consists of a rectangular sheet of heavy stock extending between the end walls I3 and I4, and framed on its vertical edges with spacer strips 32, each of which is grooved to receive an edge of the sheet. The strips 32 are of such thickness as to space adjacent dividers the width required to accommodate the pile of cards I8 placed between two dividers. The lower edge 33 of the divider is spaced from the projecting rails I1, by means presently to be described, and this spacing need be no more than is suicient to allow flipping the dividers back and forth without binding. The left hand upper edge portions 34, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, are continuous for a distance equal to about twice the cut-away portion of the edge 24 of a card I8 and the right-hand upper edge portion is continuous for a distance equal to one of the cut-away portions, while the space between these portions is serrated to provide projections 35 and interposed recesses 36. A transparent visible folded tab 3l may be secured to the portion 34 of the sheet 3|, to receive a removable index label. If desired, a transparent folded strip 35' may be extended across the entire upper edge to protect the projections 35 from undue wear and bending. This folded strip 35 provides a rounded smooth upper edge on divider 3| so that ngering of the dividers in operation of the file is made convenient and easy, without likelihood of injuring the fingers or ngernails.

The center to center distance between adjacent recesses 36 is equal, or substantially so, to the distance a between the centers of the notches 2| in the cards I8, although the actual width of the recesses may be somewhat greater than the actual width of the notches. The height of the dividers 3| is moreover such that, in assembled relation, the upper edge of the divider extends a slight distance above the edges of the cards I8. With this arrangement, it will be seen that the recesses of the dividers are aligned in depth with respect to each other, and are also aligned lengthwise with the portions 25 on the cards I8. Because of these relationships, the continuous border seen on a series of cards I8 when viewed by themselves will be seen as alternate light and dark spots, when viewed directly from the face of the divider 3 This is because the projections 35, will, in the last stated case, mask a portion of the dark border, and the divider 3| itself, is of different color. When a card is removed, however, the uniformity of the pattern will again be interrupted, as indicated by the reference numeral 39 in Figs. 2, 3 and 8, and the absence of a card Y is signalled by the absence of its dark border section 25.

It will accordingly be understood that the recessing ofthe guide indexmembersor dividers 3| along their upper margins is.coordinated with the formation of thev cards I8, so that the out signal will be readily apparentwheneyer any card is removed. It shouldhere. be pointed outv that. the provision of such recessed dividing members, in addition to preserving the cards in series, moreover enables one to detect the absence. of a card when viewing the tray in depth. That is to say, one of the problems. heretofore encountered has been to determine the absence of a card in some series toward the back of the. tray, and the only thing one could do would be to peer and crane over the tray while leang through the cards. With the present arrangement, the projections 35 and spaced recesses 36 create a. pattern, as shown in Fig. 8, which has visibility in depth, as well as longitudinally, and it accordingly can be relied upon to detect a missing card anywhere in the le without the difficulties heretofore experienced- It was previously pointed out that the length of the continuous'portions 34 on the upper edge of the dividers. 3| maybe made fairly long with respect to the cut-away portion of the card I8. This permits of the. positioning of the index tab Si at the upper corner of the divider, or a tabs breadth from the corner, thereby enabling oisetting of the tabs to some. extent, and sufficiently to identify and readily distinguish index legends which may be aligned in depth. Itk may also be noted that, by cutting the cards I8 at both uppermost corners, the cards I8 may not only be used on both sides, or made reversible, but that such double cutting simplifies the selection of tab positions on the dividers 3| in the manner just described.

Inasmuch as the recesses 36 on the dividers 3| reveal the contrasting color of the body of a card Iii as distinguished from the signal or dark section when an adjacent card is removed, i`t"i`s important to provide means to maintain. the dividers in their intended. positions. For this purpose, the lower corners of each sheet 3| are provided with pivot members 4|, the structure of which is best shown in Fig. 6. This member comprises a pair of spaced lugs 42 adapted to lie on either side of the sheet stock, and to be secured by a rivet or other suitable fastener positioned through an opening 43. The lower portions of the lugs merge into horizontally extending portions 34 which terminate in rounded ears 45 which are spaced to provide an overall width substantially equal to that of the side strips 32.

The projecting portions of pivot members 4| cooperate with retaining members 46, mounted on stanchion plates 4l on the inner faces of end walls i3 and I4. As best shown in Fig. 5, each retaining member L36 is formed of a xed plate 48 having a top rail 49, a reentrant gripping flange 5E, an inwardly7 projecting ledge 52, and bottom step 53 having a width slightlyl greater than the projecting portion of the pivot member @1I The retaining member moreover has a plate including downwardly extending movable leaf 54 depending from a strap 55 underlying top rail is and flange 5I and secured tothe upper margin of xed plate 48.. Astopange 56 is provided on the lower edge of movable leaf 54. The leaf 54 may be readily pressed toward xed plate i3 to expose step 53', but it normally extends outwardly over step 53Y due to its `inherent resilience.

In order to insert a divider in the tray, it is simply necessary to push it down into the tray, and, as the projections 4'5'strike the 'leaves 54at oppositaends, of thel tray, they ride over them;

into suchfa. position, thatthe recesses 3G assume.

their correctpositions with respectto the. border sections.. 25. along the. top edges 24 of thecards In. addition` to providingA for longitudinal IB. alignment, ,vertical` alignment. is: also obtained, as the: dividers are;held by the location ofv thepivotsA 45. betweenthe stepV 55.3 and. flange 5.6. This protects'. the.l upper edges of the. cards I3. Re-

moval of adivider is readily eiected. by merely pressing. down the leaves 54 with a pencil or the ngers.. The lower portions of pivots 45 are roundedfrom the. folding. of the. metal forming thev pivots and accordingly provide for free. rockingmovement. of the dividers in their supported. position on. stepsl 53;

The continuous and serrated .upper edge ofeach divider-3 I- protectsthe cards I8 of the contiguous. series from vertical displacement which might. otherwise-be encountered, as by `ruiilingthe. cards lIiw-iththe finger tips.. In small trays, any divider maybe grasped along its. tab portion to swing the tray contents one way or the other. However,A for trays of large capacity, itis preferable to employ throw boards at suitable intervals, rather than make the dividers of excessively heavy stock on the one hand, or imposing an undue strain on them, on the other. The throw boards 6I consist of rigid stock extendingv from end toend of the tray, extending as high as the other elements of the assembly, and preferably provided with upwardly extending tabs 62 to facilitate handling.

rThe lower side portions` of the boards are cut away, as indicatedby the' reference numeral E3, Fig. 3, in order toV provide clearance around retaining members QS. The throw boards are formed with abutments 64 which may engage the rails 49 and thus limitthe arc of movement. The lower marginy ofthe board carries spaced hinge members-|55` whichy engage-companion hinge pieces 66 secured to bottom I2. It will be apparent that these hinges may be xed, or slidable, as desired, and of any suitable construction, depending upon whether the'-user prefers to have a relatively fixed or movable board. As manyl such boards p may be included as the size of the tray dictates;

'I'he card IU shown in Fig; 9 is formed in the same manner as the card shown in Fig. 4 with notches 2| in the bottom margin and one or both upper corners formed with a diagonal margin as indicated at'IZ. The top vmargin has the dark section 'I3 forming the card signal and an adjacent portion 14. The remaining portion of the upper margin of card 10 is` of serrated form to correspond with the serrated portion of dividers 3|. The serrations in the card will register with the serrationsV in the dividers and provide for giving greater visibility to the sections 'I3 and 'Fd-than with the upper edges formed in straight relation, as shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. l0 shows a retaining member 'I5 constructed in the same manner as retaining member 46 with the addition -of an upwardly extending iiange 'I6 onthe inner edgeof the-step TI. Flange I6 is provided with notches I8 formed to receive rounded ears 45 of pivot member 4I so that the pivot member vIII is retained against sliding movement along step 11. In this way the dividers are held in a desired position of adjustment in the tray but may freely pivot about pivot members 4l in the operation of the file.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the present invention provides improvements in visible card index les of the horizontally offset type, having flexibility as to capacity, and facility in determining the correct position or absence of any index card. It will also be discerned that the cards may be rapidly moved from one position to another when using the le, without displacing the cards or the index guides or dividers employed to space them. By retaining the dividers in position on the steps of retaining members 4S or l5 against accidental removal, the cards between adjacent dividers will not be disturbed when cards on the other sides of these dividers are removed. The steps may also have their positions gaged to bring the upper serrated portions and other portions of the upper margins of the dividers into a desired position and relation to the top edges of the index cards in the tray. While the invention has been described with respect to one practical embodiment, it should of course be understood that it is not limited to the precise details of construction, but that it should be regarded as encompassing all the various parts and combinations, and the modifications and variations thereof, as are encompassed by the scope of the following claims.

rIhe invention claimed is:

1. A tray in which is retained superimposed horizontally oiset index cards arranged in series and spaced in depth by dividers in the tray, said tray comprising a bottom, end walls, and an open top, said index cards having regularly spaced notches along their lower edges and said dividers having recesses formed along their upper edges and spaced the same as said notches, guide rails positioned along the bottom of said tray and extending parallel to said end walls and engaging at least some of the notches in said cards, and resilient retaining members adjacent said end walls and above said bottom engaging the edges of the dividers to retain them in pivoted relation in said tray and position the recesses therein in predetermined relation to said notches, guide rails and index cards for displaying portions of said cards through said notches.

2. In a horizontally offset visible le, a series of index cards formed with` notches along their lower edges at uniformly spaced intervals, guide means at the bottom of said cards for engaging in at least some of the notches in said cards for maintaining said cards in position with said notches in alignment, a signal index on the upper edges oi the cards adapted to form a distinctive signal when a series of cards is arranged in odset overlapping relationship in increments equal to the notch interval, and a portion of a card adjacent said distinctive signal being displayed when any of the series is removed, a divider positioned in iront of the cards in said series, a plurality of recesses formed in the upper edge of said divider through which said signal index is visible, the center to center spacing of the recesses being substantially equal to the center to center spacing of the notches, and means to align the divider with respect to the series of cards to maintain a substantially predetermined relation between the recesses, notches, and signal index.

3. In a horizontally offset visible file, a plurality of index cards each of which is formed along one edge with alternate tabs and notches having uniform center to center spacing, guide means at the bottom of said cards for engaging in at least some of the notches in said cards for maintaining said cards in position with said notches in alignment, a cut-away corner at the opposite edge of the card, a signal index extending4 from said cutaway corner along said opposite edge a distance at least equal to the notch spacing but less than twice such spacing, whereby, when a plurality of such cards are arranged in superimposed relation and offset from each other a distance equal to the notch spacing there is established a distinctive visible signal, and, a divider adapted to be positioned against said series of cards, said divider having an upper edge lying adjacent the upper edges of said cards, said upper edge being serrated to form alternate projections and recesses extending below said signal index, the center to center distance between said recesses being substantially equal to the notch spacing, whereby said distinctive signal is visible through said recesses.

4. In a horizontally offset visible le, a plurality of superimposed and horizontally offset index cards having a visible signal index along a portion of one edge, said index dening one distinctive signal when said cards are regularly arranged and uniformly spaced and another distinctive signal when said regular arrangement is interrupted, and a divider adapted to be positioned over said cards, said divider having a serrated edge registering with said signal index, and means for positioning the divider with respect to the cards to maintain the serrated edge in registering horizontal and vertical relationship to said signal index to display said signal index through said serrations.

5. In a horizontally offset visible file adapted to receive index cards arranged in regularly oiset horizontal rows and dividers interposed between such rows, a tray having a bottom and end walks, guide rails positioned along the bottom and parallel to the end walls, said rails having a predetermined center to center spacing, index cards having bottom edges formed with alternate tabs and notches, said notches having a uniform center to center spacing and adapted to be positioned over said rails and to be shiftable between said end walls in regular increments, a signal index formed on the opposite edge portion of said cards to establish one distinctive signal when a complete horizontal series of cards is mounted on said rails and another distinctive signal when an incomplete series is so mounted, resilient retaining members mounted on said end walls and having stop and step portions adjacent the bottom of the tray, dividers interposed between horizontal series of cards, each of said dividers comprising a sheet extending between the end walls and having an upper edge overlying the upper edges of the cards and said signal index, pivots on the lower corners of the dividers adapted to be engaged by said retaining members between said stop and step portions and thereby to be retained in vertical predetermined positions, the side edges of said dividers abutting said retaining members to position said dividers in predetermined horizontal relation, a plurality of projections and recesses formed on the upper edge of each divider, said recesses having a center to center spacing substantially equal to the spacing of said notches and being aligned by said retaining members with said signal index.

6. A file, comprising a tray having a bottom and end walls, retaining members mounted on t atar/,564

said end walls, each retaining member having a step on the bottom thereof extending inwardly beyond the inner face of said end wall, a retaining flange spaced vabove said step inwardly of the adjacent end wall, and a resilient leaf portion connecting the retaining flange with the upper portion of said retaining member for resiliently supporting said flange over said step, said leaf portions inclining inwardly and downwardly from the inner faces and relative to said end walls, and a divider having pivot projections on the bottom corners for engaging in said tray with the distance between the ends of said divider and projections thereon, less than the distance between said end walls but greater than the distance between said retaining flanges, said divider extending between said end walls, said pivot projections engaging said leaf portions in downward movement of a divider in the tray for moving said retaining flanges outwardly until said projections pass said retaining flanges and engage on said step, said leaf portions normally supporting said retaining ilanges over said pivot projections when supported on said steps to retain said divider pivotally connected to said tray.

7. A le comprising a tray having bottom and end walls, a divider supporting and retaining member mounted on each end wall, each retaining member having a plate mounted on the inner side of an end wall, a step extending inwardly from the lower margin of said plate, a flexible leaf having its upper margin mounted on the upper margin of said plate and inclining downwardly and inwardly from said margins over said step, and a stop flange mounted on the lower margin of said leaf in spaced parallel relation above said step, said retaining members being arranged on the inner faces of said end walls in opposed relation for cooperation in pivotally and detachably mounting dividers in said tray in transversely extending relation therebetween and having pivot members projecting outwardly from opposite lower ends of each divider with each pivot member engaged between the step and stop flange on a retaining member.

8. In a le as claimed in claim 7 having the retaining member formed to provide each step with a plurality of upwardly extendingL spaced projections for holding a divider against longitudinal movement along said steps and separating adjacent dividers.

CARL F. WOLTERS.`

NIELS YDE ANDERSEN.

REFERENCES CITEDk The folowing references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

